The American debt exceeds $ 20.000 trillion for the first time, and the race to the top does not seem destined to stop. The Trump administration is working on tax reform, with tax cuts for companies and the middle class that could put public finances under further pressure. The other hot dossier the White House is working on is the Fed presidency: Janet Yellen is still in the running for leadership of the central bank, albeit with other candidates. "We are very worried about the debt," admits Steven Mnuchin, the secretary of the Treasury. The American debt exploded with the financial crisis: under the Obama presidency it almost doubled from 10.600 to 19.900 billion dollars. The leap that made it possible to exceed the psychological threshold of 20.000 trillion dates back to last Friday, when President Donald Trump signed the agreement reached with the Democrats that suspends the debt ceiling until December 8 in exchange for aid to cope to the hurricane emergency. One signature was worth $ 317 billion in debt. Of the 20.000 trillion of debt in circulation, about 5.500 trillion are intergovernmental debt, which therefore at least on paper has no impact on public finances. The debt in the hands of the public amounts to 14.600 billion. A high figure that - according to some estimates - will force the United States to spend $ 6.000 trillion in interest over the next 10 years. Despite concerns, the Trump administration intends to move forward on tax reform. "This is the president's priority," said Mnuchin, reiterating his commitment to approving the reform by the end of the year. Mnuchin hopes the initiative will be backed in a bipartisan way, and is working towards this goal with Gary Cohn, the White House economic adviser and former president of Goldman Sachs. 
Trump will spend himself personally to explain the reform to the Americans: according to rumors he will be in 13 states in the coming weeks with events aimed at illustrating the reform. The administration also works for the presidency of the Fed. "Yellen is talented and is in the running along with other candidates," Mnuchin said, without compromising on candidates. And above all without any reference to Cohn. Until a few days ago, the former Goldman Sachs presidency seemed to be in pole position to lead the Fed since February 3, when Yellen's current term expires. However, criticism of Trump for the Charlottesville clashes would have angered the president to such an extent that Cohn would no longer even be in the shortlist. Cohn's departure would have increased the chances of reconfirmation for Yellen, who in July had a working lunch with Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to the president. A meeting after which Trump has softened the tone on Yellen after the criticisms of the campaign, opening to his reconfirmation.